Guide HandsFree Case Study: Dolphin Guide builds Joy's confidence

Joy Lloyd from Middlesbrough describes herself as a "Silly dizzy old woman that's mad about football", but nothing could be further from the truth.

Aged 75, Joy is clearly a determined lady who despite some recent major set backs in her health and now being registered blind, is committed to returning to her second passion, Genealogy. (The first being Middlesbrough football club!)

I am still getting to terms with the big sight loss - it was a big blow to me. I used to be fully sighted, but I have Macular degeneration and I also put eye drops in for glaucoma. I have dry macular degeneration. But a while back, my husband, Jack, read this article in the Times about injections you can get. We decided right, yes, we'll go for it. We'll get some of those."

"So we caught the train down to London to Kings College. The guy looked at me and offered the treatment for £1800 per shot and we needed 12 of them in a year. I said 'right can we go home. I am not re-mortgaging the house. I am not downsizing.' "

"It turns out they do the same treatment at Middlesbrough. Well I didn't know that. I've had 3 injections now. And I went to see him, the consultant, last Tuesday and unfortunately he said 'We're not offering anymore because they're not improving. They're not doing any harm but they're not getting any miracle results, like we were all hoping for.' "

Despite the ups and the downs of her deteriorating sight, Joy hasn't put life on hold. Since purchasing Dolphin Guide 18 months ago, Joy's life has never been more varied.

"Well I am into genealogy, that's my main concern. In simple terms Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. I send pictures and receive pictures by email, even from New Zealand for instance. But I do write a lot of documents, I file documents. I bring them up and read them again. But I don't do any business work - I am too old for business now."

"I have studied births in every church in Middlesbrough since about 1790. There are literally thousands of them. I go through them, bring the church up, go Control & F to search for say Smith, the name your want. Dolphin Guide will bring up every Smith. There might be twenty thousand of them, but Dolphin Guide can find all the Smiths for me."

"People write to me and say 'my ancestors came from Middlesbrough and they were born here, or christened here around 1800's'. Then I can look for the details and email them. In fact I've just got in touch with another lady who's into genealogy. We exchange details and ideas by email."

For Joy keeping in touch with family is just as important as keeping her brain active. But as she grows in confidence, Joy finds herself tempted by the very latest communication methods. Despite being nearly totally blind, Dolphin Guide empowers Joy to email and instant message, through the clever combination of simple easy to use menus and reassuring human sounding speech.

"Dolphin Guide enables me to email Jack's two sisters in Australia. We also write to a lady we know in New Zealand - she comes from the same family line as Jack, believe it or not. That's been a great thing. She's sent me pictures of Jack's family and her family. It's been wonderful. Last Sunday evening I got my instant messenger account set up and running. One of my grandsons is in London, so I am going to get his address and instant message him. "

For Joy, Dolphin Guide has had a bigger impact than just day to day communication. As Joy describes, that is only just the start of it.
My husband would tell you. I am a different person since I got Dolphin Guide. I am more confident without a doubt. Oh yes, definitely more confident. "

"I don't even wait for Dolphin Guide to say hello now. I know what I want to do straightaway now. My finger is ready on number 5 for the phone book for instance. I suppose you could say I am cheating now. I am too clever for my own boots. I still don't always get it right, but with Dolphin Guide I hear when my typing goes wrong. Guide tells you and I can change it."

I am 75, so I am doing good. These days I am quite literally bouncing."

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